As Intel moves more and more core components to their CPU we are seeing an interesting shift in motherboard design. The manufacturers are all realizing that the performance difference between them are narrowing. The days of seeing a massive difference in benchmark scores are almost gone. However, instead of just pushing out a bunch of cookie cutter boards some motherboard makers are looking for new ways to differentiate their boards. Asus is one of these makers and we will be taking a look at a board that has more than a few departures from the normal motherboard design philosophy. This is the Asus Z97-A. So without too much more delay, let’s dive in and see what Asus has given us.
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Conclusion –
On paper the Z97-A looks like a winner. It has a clean design with some welcome departures from the norm. It also has an excellent feature set for the spot it is aimed at in the market. The storage options alone are enough to make someone take a closer look. We also like that Asus made some changes in the layout that make sense from the way people build and connect their systems. If these features can come together with the right performance level this is going to be an amazing board. So be sure to check back and see what the performance numbers are in part two of our coverage of the Asus Z97-A.
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